


Grounded Aces

by Skylinneas



Series: Tales of Strangereal [1]
Category: Ace Combat
Genre: Epilogue, F/M, Gen, POV Multiple, Post-Game(s), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Strangereal Universe (Ace Combat), Video Game: Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:20:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26104096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylinneas/pseuds/Skylinneas
Summary: Strangereal is home to many ace pilots, and it was the site of so many wars. Many aces took to the skies. Some never came back. Others do, but they never take flight again. These are the stories of those grounded aces.
Relationships: Blaze/Kei "Edge" Nagase
Series: Tales of Strangereal [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895308
Kudos: 15





	1. The Ace Who Was King of the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I originally posted this story on FFN.net but since I'm trying out a new writing website, I thought I might as well post my stories here as well! In summary, these are collections of standalone stories of several characters in the world of Strangereal following the events of Ace Combat 7, which I intended to be the beginning of my own AC-verse featuring original storylines and reimagining of events featured in the games. Enjoy!

It wasn't very hard to find a legendary ace pilot, let alone one that used to be a royalty who, by all accounts, should be considered no less than a king of a nation itself.

Mihaly A. Shilage (I'm not even gonna try to say his full name) seemed to be even older than I first imagined. It's hard to imagine that the guy used to be the top ace of the Erusea Air Force who ruled the sky like he owns all of it, and it was him who claimed so many lives of my dearest friend throughout the so-called "Lighthouse War".

It was only a month since then, but to me, it felt like a lot longer than that. Yet I still remember our last encounter quite well.

Since I was having a day off after helping my friends in the LRSSG repair the damage we have done to Shilage during the war, I figured I might as well pay him a visit.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You look terrible, old man."

I said, looking at the old man lying in his bed pithily. This was not a fate any ace pilot should have been in, regardless of what he had done.

Mihaly smiled bitterly in response. I can sense that he's observing me like he's trying to analyze what kind of a man I really am, just like he did once when we both fly the same skies together. Old habits die hard, I guess.

"So we finally meet face to face, the pilot with the Three Strikes," Mihaly finally said, "I'm sorry I couldn't get up to greet you myself. Curse my stupid back."

"Well, I guess I kinda owe you an apology for that," I said sheepishly, though I didn't really mean it that much. The guy was a pain in my ass throughout the entire war, after all.

"So I assume I have you to thank for putting an end to this pointless war?" Mihaly asked.

"Technically, the princess did most of the work. She did have an effect on people, after all," I admitted, "but then again, it was her who started this whole mess in the first place. Even if she was being manipulated by some radicals in her government, it was still her decision to go to war with us."

That earned a small chuckle from Mihaly.

"Princess Cossette made a terrible mistake, just like I did when I signed up for the drone project," He began, "I will not condone her for what she had done. We started this war and now we suffer the consequences, just as how it should be. What I will say is that there is still a chance for her to atone for it. I thank you for giving her that chance. She has been a good friend to my granddaughters."

I stayed silent. Mihaly didn't really strike me as the caring type. With the way he flew in battle, the way he aggressively terrorized his prey, the way he stalked and hunted down my wingmen, you'd think that he is a demon in human form. Of course, Osea did have a lot of pretty good demon tales.

"Why are you really here, young man?" Mihaly asked, though there was no hatred in his voice.

Why am I here? I don't even know it myself.

Perhaps it's to finally meet the legendary ace who gave me the fight of my life. Perhaps it's just me wanting to look into the eyes of a murderer who killed many of my friends.

Perhaps it's both.

"A good friend of mine said she knew you," I began, remembering the day just after the war ended, when Avril Mead – the so-called "Scrap Queen" - introduced me to Mihaly's granddaughters, "I was an ace pilot in a world that no longer needs one, so I have nothing to do right now. You could say I was bored being stuck here on the ground. So I figured: 'why not go meet a man who almost killed me several times?' "

Mihaly chuckled again. If I had to guess, he seemed to be quite proud of himself to have almost killed me every time we ran into each other.

"I never did really find out the meaning behind your emblem, Three Strikes," Mihaly spoke.

"You're just not gonna call me by my real name, aren't you?"

"Names aren't what I'm interested in."

"Heh."

Well, to be fair, nobody ever really cares what my name is, anyway. To everyone, I'm either "Trigger" or "the pilot with the Three Strikes". They have their charms, though, so I don't really mind much.

"When we first fought each other, back in the Yinshi Valley," I began. "I was flying in a penal unit. Those 'three strikes' are actually sin lines, or so my wingmen have told me. I got them because I was accused of killing the former president. I was pretty 'popular' at the hellhole I was thrown into because I was the only one who got 'three strikes' there. Heh, as if it's something I should be proud of."

Mihaly listened quietly, though I saw curiosity in his eyes. I wondered what he felt like, realizing that the one pilot who defeated him was a mere ex-convict.

"Anyway, after a few more victories, I got transferred out. My name got cleared, but the emblem struck with me so I decided to fashion it a little. And the rest is history. I never intended for it to have any meaning, it's up to everybody else to decide what it stood for."

"Interesting." Mihaly finally said, his eyes still studied me. "In that valley, that was the first time I ever missed a shot and the first time someone successfully shot me. I suppose it's not that surprising that you would be the one destined to bring me down."

"What can I say, I had no other choice," I told him, my mind racing back to that fateful day when I fought him in a thunderstorm cloud so my allies could retreat. I could still hear the lightning strikes when it struck my plane, "someone has to stop you from cutting through everyone like a hot knife through butter. I was the only one crazy enough to do it. To be honest I didn't think I would make it out alive myself. Back then, the only thing on my mind was just to survive."

"You will be surprised how many of the world's greatest aces began by just trying to survive."

"You made it sounded like a trial by fire is needed for every pilot to become something greater."

"I already told you back then, young man," Mihaly replied, "a true ace has to be tested to his or her limits, to see whether they are worthy or not. They will be pushed into something they never faced before, something that will test their endurance and will to survive. Either they make it out alive and become stronger from it, or they die trying."

"Like how you shot down a defenseless young girl whose plane was already damaged and posed no threat?" I finally mustered the courage to ask, suddenly remembering a close friend of mine who lost her life to this...this predator.

"I was there as well, you know? May 30th. Chopinburg. Our air force was almost decimated by an Arsenal Bird and its drones, but it wasn't those things that devastated me the most."

Brownie.

I can forgive him for killing Champ. The guy was asking for it anyway. I can forgive him for killing Wiseman. He knew the risks. We both knew the risks and what we were going into when we decided to engage Mihaly over the skies of Farbanti.

But Brownie…the poor girl was scared out of her mind when Mihaly finally shot her down. She didn't deserve any of what Mihaly put her through.

I realized that in war, people are going to die. That doesn't make any easier to accept it, though.

She was crying out for me to help, and as much as I wanted to, I was not able to save her in time.

"One of the pilots you shot down in that mission was a good friend of mine." I said, trying to keep my voice calm, but deep down some of my hatred still lingers, even after all this time, "I heard her screaming over the radio, begging for someone to support her. She was just about to leave the area with another ally when you showed up."

"The pilot with the damaged plane," Mihaly spoke, before nodding a little, "I'm sorry for that."

That's it. Just a simple sorry. Just a simple nod. Just these two things to acknowledge the fact that he has taken the life of a non-combatant who was way out of her league.

"I won't hold it against you, Mihaly. I'm sure you did what you had to. I just wanted you to know about it." I said coldly. For a moment, my sympathy for the crippled man was gone. All I saw is a killer who got away with his murder.

"…Sometimes, we don't get to choose who our targets are. You should know that when you and your friends raided my castle and the refugees in it," I heard Mihaly spoke, his voice sounded strained and bitter.

Have to admit, I wasn't very proud of that. Fuel and food were almost empty. We had to do what must be done to survive, even if it meant taking from the refugees.

God, I still hated myself for being part of that.

Mihaly stayed silent for a long while. I decided to divert my attention to a nearby cabinet. There was a picture frame on it. Mihaly's granddaughters were sitting next to each other all smiling. Next to them was a man I didn't recognize.

"There was a pilot much like you back then. Erusean forces called him 'The Ribbon'," Mihaly continued, "That man in the picture? He was my best and brightest student, and the Ribbon shot him down during the last war. His body was never found."

Mihaly's face remained stoic, yet I can see the crack beneath the surface.

I heard a few tales of the "The Ribbon Fighter" myself. The legendary pilot who singlehandedly turned the tide of the Usean Continental War. He was the reason we only had one Stonehenge turret to deal with the Arsenal Bird during this war.

Just my kind of pilot.

"My greatest regret was that I never had a chance to fight him." Mihaly finally continued, "An enemy bomber devastated the airbase I was stationed in before I managed to get into my plane early into the war. The explosion left me in a coma. By the time I healed, the war was already over. My students fought the war in my place, but all of them fell against the Ribbon."

Mihaly's students. That reminded me of the Erusean pilot that fought alongside me against those drones at the Lighthouse…and lost his life for it.

"I'm sorry about Wit."

I spoke. It was the least I could do. We all lost someone we cared about in these pointless wars.

Mihaly nodded slowly, "He died as he lived, in the sky that pilots like us called home. I couldn't have been more proud."

Another silence.

One of Mihaly's granddaughters – Ionela - walked into the room. In her hands is a dinner plate along with some medicine. She shot me a look that was both accusing and accepting. I'm sure she knew that it was me who crippled her grandfather. She didn't like having me here at all, but she accepted that it was her grandfather's choice that made him ended up like this.

I wondered what happened to Ionela and Alma's parents, though. Never saw them anywhere. I'd ask Mihaly about it, but I realize it might have been a too personal topic for him, so I stayed quiet.

"Please excuse me for a moment," Mihaly said. He turned to receive the plate from Ionela and gave her a gentle pat on her head.

It's easy to forget in a war, every soldier is also a person who has loved ones. Throughout the war, I'd probably killed my fair share of "Brownies" on the other side as well.

There's always a Brownie, or a Wiseman, or a Wit, who had to die simply because they fought in a war they weren't lucky enough to survive.

Somehow, it made me feel a bit glad that at least Mihaly was still alive to be there with his granddaughters. I can't imagine how those girls would live without him.

After chatting with her grandfather for a while, Ionela left the room. Mihaly's smile faded as soon as she's out of his sight.

"I have to say, Mihaly. You're not quite like what I was expecting."

"Oh, what gives you that impression then, young man?"

"Those scars of yours," I observed the scars on his face. "You didn't get them from flying, and certainly not from our little fight together last month."

Mihaly didn't answer right then. Instead, he just turned to look outside the windows, towards the castle on the hill that used to be his.

"Shilage was a troubled nation long before we became part of Erusea," He finally said, "These scars are just the reminders of a long-forgotten conflict that never amounted to anything in the end."

Somehow, I suspected Mihaly wasn't just talking about the war back then.

Even before the Lighthouse War started, I lost count of how many conflicts that started and ended in our pitiful little planet. There was the Belkan War back then. Usea had two civil wars. Erusea tried to take over all of Usea but ended up getting its own ass kicked long before this whole mess started. Both the Circum-Pacific War and the Anean Continental War happened just five years away from each other. And then there was this whole mess that is the Lighthouse War.

All these wars, and for what? There'll just gonna be more conflict in the future days to come.

"Those drones. I already put a stop to them, just like you asked." I said.

"Yet deep down, you know that somewhere, someone is already working on perfecting the model," Mihaly replied, "and eventually, they will succeed, and there might be no one capable of stopping them this time."

I can only give a little nod in response. Mihaly was right. Even without the threat of the drones, we'll just end up fighting each other again sooner or later given the chance, and they can't count on us to solve their mess every time. Aces like us won't be flying forever. We're all grounded sooner or later.

But…

"There will always be new aces in the sky," I said, "you said it yourself, didn't you? 'There are pilots like you in every generation'. Even if we cannot stop them, there will always be someone who can. The skies don't belong only to us. We just got to have faith in the newer generation to get the job done."

This time, Mihaly actually smiled for real.

"I guess that's all we can do, then."

For once, Mihaly seemed like a normal guy. A kind old man with failing health who longed for the lost glories of the past. I can understand that.

"It was nice talking with you, Mihaly. I hope for the best for you and your granddaughters." I spoke, actually smiling back to the old man this time.

Before I left the room, however, Mihaly has one last surprise for me.

"She managed to bail out, you know?" Mihaly spoke.

That made me stop dead in my tracks.

"What are you talking about?"

"The pilot in the damaged plane."

.

.

.

What?

Seeing the confused look on my face, Mihaly continued.

"I just shot at the wings of her plane. She managed to bail out just in time. I saw her parachuting down into the rainforest below. Not that it helped her much, though, she parachuted right into the Erusean-controlled territory."

I quickly turned back to face Mihaly, silently demanding answers from him.

"Some of your pilots downed during the battle over Chopinburg are still alive. The last thing I heard, they were being taken away to a POW camp somewhere south of San Salvacion. I don't know what happened to them after the satellites went down, though."

There was a big silence as I tried to process what Mihaly just told me. I didn't actually see Brownie getting shot down. I was too busy saving the other pilots from the drones as well as keeping myself alive.

Was there actually a chance that Brownie was in fact alive? Or was this old man just messing with me?

"Why would you tell me this?"

"I'm a soldier, not a mercenary," Mihaly explained, "I know a defenseless target when I see one. An opponent that does not provide any challenge is one that is not worth killing. I just wanted you to know about it."

Turning my own words against me. Touché.

Mihaly smiled slightly. I imagined he must've noticed my eyes lighting up.

"Thank you for telling me this," I finally spoke, "Mister X."

Mihaly nodded, "See you in the sky somewhere, Three Strikes."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sky never looked so brighter after I left Mihaly's home. I immediately pulled out my phone and called one of my friends in the air force.

"Hey, it's me," I spoke, my voice barely contained the excitement, "I just learned some very good news today, but I need you to confirm it for me. I heard you have some experience dealing with POW camps before."

The person on the line was an old instructor of mine back when I was in flight school: a hardass one at that, but we remained pretty good friends after I finished the class.

"Yes, an Erusean POW camp south of San Salvacion. I have a feeling a friend of mine might be there…No, I don't know what happened to it after the satellites went down. The area's still in chaos until now…I heard the Yukes are going to provide relief efforts in the area tomorrow and that your girl might be there…wait…what do you mean she broke your heart again? Come on, Jack, pull yourself together, man!"


	2. The Ace Who Had Seen The Horrors of War

I woke up with a start, my body was sweating all over the place as my body shook uncontrollably.

It was that damn nightmare again.

I dreamed of it every time I closed my eyes, every single night since I got here.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"Golem 2, what's your status?"_

_A voice spoke through the radio as if it came from a faraway place. I didn't even realize it was my flight lead at first. My hands shook uncontrollably on the control stick as I desperately try to outmaneuver that monster in the SU-30. That beast was pursing me relentlessly, but he didn't fire the missile yet._

_He was waiting, no, toying with me._

_He knew I was doomed, and he wanted me to know it before he takes the killing shot._

_He was like a wolf, and I was a lamb waiting to be eaten._

_"Status report!"_

_He shouted again, his concerned voice was drowned out by the constant alert sounds that were blaring all over the cockpit._

_"He's like a predator…the weak get eaten…" I muttered uncontrollably, tears ran down my eyes, blinding the visors on my helmet. I couldn't even see where I was flying to anymore._

_"Golem 2, get a hold of yourself!"_

_I was going to die._

_"Golem 2, get away from the enemy!"_

_Alone, so far away from home, in this flying coffin that was my aircraft._

_"Mage 2, support!"_

_I shouted as loud as I could. My voice strained as I desperately hoped that by some miracle, my friend Trigger would save me._

_That anyone would save me._

_But nobody was coming._

_"Somebody! Support!"_

_The missile alert alarm was blaring all over the cockpit, like a sound from hell. The beast finally took the shot._

_I screamed for one last time as I closed my eyes shut, preparing for the inevitable._

_"Eject, Brownie! EJECT!"_

_Trigger's voice was the last thing I heard as the missile exploded, and the whole world turned white._

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somehow, I survived.

The missile hit at the tip of my plane's left wing. Miraculously, it was not a killing shot.

I was hit by the shockwave from the explosion, my head smashed into the canopy, but luckily my helmet saved me from getting myself knocked out or getting my neck snapped.

The tip of the left wing was blown to pieces, but somehow the plane was still flying, though it was shaking uncontrollably.

It took all of my willpower and whatever sanity I still had left to press the eject button.

As I launched myself out of my doomed Super Hornet as it slowly caught fire and plunged to the ground below, I caught a glimpse of the SU-30 with the orange wingtip as it was flying away and disappeared into the clouds.

It was the sight that stuck with me up until this day. The devil that I always saw in my sleep.

The predator in the clouds. The monster in my nightmares.

It took me a good ten seconds before I snapped back to reality and deploy the parachute. My mind was still blank from the near-death experience I had just gone through.

I didn't feel the cold wind blowing into my face as I floated down to earth.

I didn't even feel any pain when I landed and face-planted into the ground because my legs were so numb that I couldn't even support my own weight.

I didn't even try to move as I crumbled inside my own parachute, crying my heart out as I realized I was still alive.

I didn't even try to hide as an Erusean patrol unit moved in and took me prisoner. One of the soldiers had to carry my sorry ass to the truck as I couldn't even walk on my own.

There was only one thing on my mind, one thing I kept telling myself over and over like a code programmed into my brain:

My flying days were over.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was how I ended up here, in a POW camp in the middle of nowhere.

It was seven months since then, but I still remember it like it happened yesterday.

"Having nightmares again?"

The guy with a brown hair sitting opposite of me asked. He was another prisoner here. I didn't know the story, but he said he's been here even longer than I did, before this whole mess started, in fact. The guy looked to be in his early fifties, so I reckoned he must've been through a lot.

"You asked me that, like, the fifth time already this month, Arthur."

"Well, you kept having these nightmares, Brownie. It's been seven months. Keep this up, you'd go insane sooner or later."

"Shut up. You won't know how it feels. You just don't get over something like this. You just can't."

I told him sternly, though I wasn't angry. Arthur's probably the only real friend I had in this miserable prison throughout the seven months I was here. The guy's pretty chill. I didn't know his backstory, or what he did to land himself here. He's like that guy at work who acted like a big brother to everyone, always asking people who are troubled and offering advice, yet no one actually knew how he's like beneath the surface. Seemed like a cool enough guy to hang around with.

Then again, I wasn't really the one with the best judgment.

"Look, Brownie, I get it. I know what you've gone through when that guy shot you down, okay?" Arthur began, "Nobody should've gone through what you did. It's an awful experience, but always keep in mind that you're still alive. Against all odds, you survived all that, and now the war's ending. You'll finally be getting out of here soon. You'll see your friends and family again. Isn't that something to look forward to?"

For some reason, these 'therapy sessions' with Arthur actually helped calm me down a bit, at least when I'm not closing my eyes. We had been doing this ever since I got here, when the guards aren't bothering us, that is.

"Yeah, I guess I should really look forward to that," I replied, though I was not that particularly cheerful about it.

The prison alarm rang, and the guards moved in to bring us back to our cells.

Fort Ducard was a surprisingly friendly place when it comes to POW camps. For one thing, the guards didn't seem to have problems with us prisoners having a recreational time after a meal in the mess hall. The fort commander did bring me in for interrogations from time to time, but eventually, he stopped bothering once he knew that I don't have anything useful to offer them.

Sure, they did lock some of us in solitary from time to time, but those guys were asking for it anyway. It's not like they just throw us in there if we did so much as glancing at them the wrong way. I heard some Osean prison guards did that. Not sure if it's true, though.

Many Erusean guards here were actually conscripts from a nearby nation of San Salvacion. Most of them didn't even ask for the war, so when a radio broadcast by Princess Rosa Cossette D'Elise announced the peace declaration, both guards and prisoners alike cheered throughout the fort.

"About damn time she realized it already," Arthur said to me after the cheering died down, "this entire war is yet another proof of how we always resort to violence to get what we wanted. It happened many times before and it's no different this time."

"Shocker," I said bitterly.

Thanks to this goddamn war, I'm stuck in this prison for seven months and having to relieve that nightmare every single night.

I don't care how popular the princess is. I'm personally blaming her for putting me through this living hell. She started this war. She forced me into that battlefield. She's the one who gave me this never-ending nightmare. She can hide behind her pretty speeches and grandiose dresses all she wanted. To me, she's just a war criminal.

I never asked for any of this. All I wanted in my life was to fly in the bright, blue sky, and look where that got me.

Back then, I dreamed of soaring through the clouds and be the protector of the peace.

Now, whenever I looked up there, I can only see pain and death, and that devil with the orange wingtip.

I just wanted to go home.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A CH-47 helicopter landed in the central yard of the fort. It was Yuktobania's - our enemy-turned-ally in the previous war. I heard on the news that they're helping the Oseans providing relief efforts for the refugees in locations affected during the war, which is to say, almost everywhere in Usea.

I saw a lady in a dark brown coat wearing sunglasses walking gracefully out of the helicopter along with armed escorts. She talked with the fort commander about something – probably about terms of surrender and POW release procedures, then they both went into the central building.

At first glance, that lady looked more like a secretary to some businessman than a Major in one of the world's strongest military forces. She had that aura of mystery surrounding her. I wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be a super-secret agent in disguise or something.

A few minutes later, a voice spoke through the loudspeakers, echoing throughout the fort.

"Attention. All prisoners of war are to report to the fort's airstrip in thirty minutes," I heard the fort commander spoke.

"We have arranged transports for you people in collaboration with the Yuktobanian Army. The planes will take you to San Salvacion to rendezvous with Osea's Long Range Strategic Strike Group, where you will receive further instructions. The guards will escort you to the airstrip, do proceed in an orderly fashion."

The commander paused for a moment as if to gather his thoughts before he continued:

"The war is now over. You people are all free now. Go home and enjoy your lives. Godspeed."

A thunderous cheer erupted throughout the fort. Several guards have to put out stun batons to keep the prisoners from getting too wild. The base commander did say only prisoners of war were to be released, after all. There'd probably be some actual criminals who would take advantage of the situation.

"Heh, better late than never," Arthur spoke, "I've been stuck here since the last war. Turned out the old base commander was such a dick, he never released us even after that war was over, and there was no pretty lady to negotiate for our release like this."

"Ouch, you, sir, are born unlucky," I said, punching Arthur's shoulder playfully.

"I prefer the term unluckily lucky. I'm still alive after all." He replied with a grin on his face.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our transports turned out to be two C-13 Hercules, here to take us to San Salvacion.

Of all things, why must it be planes? I'd rather walk all the way there.

Arthur got on the plane first, before he offered a hand to take me abroad.

Somehow, my legs won't move.

"Come on, Brownie, grab my hand. The others' waiting." He said.

I didn't say anything. Suddenly my body started shaking again.

_._

_MISSILE. MISSILE. MISSILE. MISSILE._

_"He's like a predator…"_

_._

"Hey, you're wasting time, girl. Get on already!" A prisoner behind me growled.

But I just couldn't move.

_._

_MISSILE. MISSILE. MISSILE. MISSILE._

_"Somebody! Support!"_

_._

"Hey, Brownie. I know this is difficult for you, but everything's going to be okay. I promise. You're going home, alright?"

I looked up to see Arthur smiling gently at me, his hand still reached out for me.

"You're going to be okay."

What was it with this guy?

I took a long, deep breath, trying to focus my mind.

It's going to be fine. It's going to fine. I kept telling myself in my mind. I'm about to go home now.

I took Arthur's hand.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fifteen minutes later, we were in the air. There were about twenty prisoners abroad, along with about a dozen Erusean and Yuktobanian soldiers. The plane was a bit crowded, but compared to the tiny cell I lived in for months it felt much more spacious by comparison.

Still, my mind was racing the moment the aircraft took off from the runway. I kept replaying the same scenes from that fateful day.

The plane shook a bit as it went under turbulence. I should be already used to this ever since I finished flight academy, but now it made my body shivered like someone poured freezing water down my spine.

I took a few deep breaths. It's only a few hours from here to San Salvacion. I can do this.

"I…before I got shot down…I was actually doing pretty fine, you know?" I began. I needed to get something out of my head, anything, otherwise I'd just keep thinking back to that nightmare. Talking to Arthur always seemed to help me relax, so why not?

Arthur turned to look at me and frowned, silently urging me to continue.

"It…it was somewhere over Chopinburg, I think. Me and my squadron were engaging enemy drones. It was absolute chaos. Dozens upon dozens of UAVs overwhelmed us. My plane got hit as well. A missile exploded somewhere near my right wing's tip, but I was still able to fly."

"You were flying with only one wing?" Suddenly, Arthur's eyes lit up.

"Nah, the wing's still there. It was just smoking like someone attached a smoke grenade on it," I replied, "Somehow I managed to shoot down another drone after that. It was my fifth kill overall."

"Congrats. You're officially an ace." He complimented, "I have to admit, that was rather impressive."

"Yeah, that's what I believed I was back then, too." I replied as I recalled the memories of that day, "You know, I actually had the audacity to tell my flight lead that I was still able to fight, but he ordered me back anyway. Come to think of it, I should've stayed instead of…"

That again…it always veered back to that nightmare again.

"I…"

_MISSILE. MISSILE. MISSILE. MISSILE._

I took another deep breath. I swear people will think I have a lung problem or something.

_Keep calm. Keep calm. It's all in the past, you idiot. Stay strong._

"I…I thought I was doing something right. It was just my third sortie yet I was already an ace. At first I thought it was just that I wanted to pull my own weight in the squadron…It was only until recently that I realized: I just didn't want my friends to have all the fun. I was cocky, especially when there was this one guy who kept downing more and more UAV bandits despite all the chaos around us."

The thought of Trigger made my mind calmer somehow. It had been a long time since I thought about that hot-blooded trainee. The last time I heard about him was that he participated in the failed attempt to rescue ex-President Harling at the Lighthouse. That couldn't have been easy. Hope he's doing alright.

"Hey, it's normal to be cocky. I know these things all too well." Arthur said, "I used to be quite cocky in my younger days as well."

"Ironic isn't it. I finally became an ace pilot, but now I can never bring myself to fly again." I bitterly replied. If it took all of my courage to step into this cargo plane that wasn't even flying into a combat zone, I'd probably never have the strength to climb back into the cockpit ever again.

I guess I was grounded, permanently.

"You know, I was an ace pilot myself, in a war that happened a long time ago," Arthur began, sparkling my interest. All this time, I thought he was just a foot soldier, "A cocky one at that. Back then, I went out on sorties feeling like I could take on the whole world. In the sky, I was unstoppable."

Suddenly, Arthur's face saddened as he lowered his head. I guess he didn't really have fond memories of his flying days as well. Guess we have something in common, after all.

He sighed before he continued.

"Needless to say, that war taught me a lot of cruel lessons. After it ended, I never fly again. People often said the horrors of war feel so trivial when you're up there in the wide, open sky, never witnessing the brutality of war firsthand. Well, I call bullshit on that. When you're up there, you can actually see everything that's happened, every atrocity committed in the name of some absurd ideal or political agenda. You'd never be the same after that."

I stayed silent. I had a feeling that Arthur's deliberately hiding some crucial details in his story, but I decided not to pursue the topic further. It was obvious that whatever happened back then still affected him to this day. Who am I to judge? I was still recovering from my own scars as well.

Still, it made me feel somewhat glad that I wasn't the only one going through this alone.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The plane landed safely in San Profetta International Airport in San Salvacion about two hours later. The sun was already rising as I stepped out of the plane. The gentle warmth of the breaking dawn soothed me as I took in the scenery of the world around me.

I finally made it. I thought to myself. I survived.

"Well, Brownie, it looks like we'll finally have to go our separate ways," Arthur said as he dusted off his brown jacket. He actually looked like he used to be a pilot now.

"What, you're asking for my phone number or something?" I jokingly teased him.

"Nah, you're not my type."

"Excuse me?"

Out of the blue, both of us just burst into laughter, not caring for the curious eyes of the ex-prisoners who walked past us by. Damn it, I can't even remember the last time I laughed out this loud.

"It's just…" Arthur finally said after he calmed down, "It has been quite a while since I have any real friend to talk to."

"Really? You seemed like a pretty chill guy. I'd thought you would've have had more friends."

"Heh," Arthur avoided my eyes sheepishly, "There was this one buddy of mine, though. We've been through so much together a long time ago, but he never really talked much. Don't know where he is right now, though."

"Well, I hope you'll see him again soon after this whole mess, Arthur." I said with a smile, "You've been a very good friend, Arthur. I wouldn't have made it past these seven months without you."

Another silence. For a while, we just stood there staring at each other. I never realized how tired Arthur actually was. He looked like he had been through some pretty rough time before.

All that time in the camp, he had been my personal therapist, helping me trying to get over that nightmare, but never once did I ever ask whether he needed any help. Thinking back, I felt like such a jerk.

"My name's not actually Arthur," He began first, "It's Larry. Larry Foulke."

Larry? Well, that was kinda a letdown. I actually liked Arthur better. Sounded like a king's name.

Somehow, the name felt familiar. I thought I heard about it somewhere before, but I just couldn't remember.

"Well, to be fair, I've never really told you my real name, either."

"I'd be more surprised if your real name is actually Brownie." He jokingly said.

"Ha ha," I smiled, "It's actually Alicia. Alicia Harvard."

"Nice to meet you, Alicia Harvard," Larry said, returning the smile.

"Pleased to know you, Larry Foulke."

We shook hands with each other.

"I'd probably be going back to Oured in a few days," I told him, feeling that I probably shouldn't have seen the last of this guy yet, "If by any chance you happened to be in the area, look up my brother John. He's currently working as an educator at the National Air and Space Museum."

"Noted, buddy," Larry replied, his smile never fading. "Keep yourself alive, okay? See you again."

And then we parted ways.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seemed like forever since I got to use a phone.

The Osean military official at the terminal allowed us POWs to use a phone call. It used the military's direct line so it wasn't affected by the satellite disaster a few months earlier.

At first, I decided that I wanted to call my brother, to tell him that I was actually alive after all.

Then I thought: maybe I should prank my old friend a bit.

"Hey, Trigger. Guess who's still alive?" I spoke into the phone, grinning all the while, "I still wanted to go to that bar, and nothing will stop me this time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! That was a long chapter xD.
> 
> I actually have quite a bit of trouble with this one. I had to keep Arthur's true identity hidden while providing enough hints that he was actually the one and only Solo Wing Pixy so as not to make the reveal feel out of place. If you guys remember, in AC0 Pixy was being interviewed at a town near the border. The supplementary material reveals that he was fighting in Delarus, a small country in Usea, during the Usean Continental War (aka AC04). That's how he ended up in that prison. I might expand upon that story later, but for now, I just wanted to focus on our two favorite grounded aces. At least I managed to achieve that goal, for better or worse lol.
> 
> Also, Brownie's real name is Alicia Harvard. I intended for her to be the sister of John Harvard, the Osean astronaut who sabotaged the Arkbird to force it to descend down into the atmosphere, allowing the Razgriz Squadron to destroy it in AC5. Fun fact, your wingman in the original AC2 "Slash" has the name John Harvard as well, before Bandai-Namco retconned his name to be John Herbert in its remaster "Assault Horizon Legacy". Never played that one though cause I never owned a Nintendo 3DS.
> 
> All in all, I'd say I'm a bit proud of this one. I managed to save Brownie at long last. Now I'm happy xD. Any review and criticism are welcome as always!


	3. The Ace Who Was Left Behind

The gentle breeze of the eastern wind greeted me as I stepped out of the taxi. What lay ahead of me was a gigantic tower that stretched high above the clouds into the atmosphere. The International Space Elevator, more commonly known as the Lighthouse, was one of the most astonishing architectural marvels our world has ever seen.

And it was the brainchild of my good friend, the late ex-president Vincent Harling.

It was the "bridge of peace" that he promised to my wife a long time ago.

"So, I guess our favorite 'nugget' is all grown up now. Ain't that right, Kid?"

Jack Bartlett spoke proudly as he slapped his hand on my left shoulder. The guy's still the same as always. No matter what my actual name is, I'm still a "Kid" in his eyes.

"I don't know how she did it, Captain," I said, "I mean after the war, she became an astronaut in, like, two years, and then went on to become the commander of the most ambitious space exploration mission in history."

"Well, she always did want to become an astronaut. It's her lifelong passion," Bartlett replied with a smile on his face, "Also, Harling did put in a good word for her. He truly believed that she can pull it off. Heh, good ol' Harling. Always putting his faith in us to do the impossible."

Bartlett's smile faded a little as reality suddenly hit both of us like a truck.

"I missed that guy…"

We stayed silent for a moment, out of respect for our late ex-president. I truly wished that he could've lived to see this day.

Have to admit, I was not happy when I heard the news that Harling was assassinated.

I was even more pissed off when I learned that it was supposedly one of our own Osean pilots who shot his plane down.

But then, just a month ago, the supposed murderer of Vincent Harling gave his all to destroy the Arsenal Bird guarding this very space elevator, and then later destroyed the two advanced UAVs that threatened to escalate the war further.

And it was him who saved my wife's life. By saving the space elevator, Nagase could manage to land her spacecraft safely.

I guess there might be more to him than I first realized.

"Hey, Captain?" I turned to Bartlett, "You mentioned earlier that you knew the pilot who ended this war?"

"Oh, you mean that dude Trigger?" Bartlett frowned, "Yeah, the guy's a promising pilot, but kinda stubborn. Always eager to go off by himself and pull some crazy stunts that would make Pops blush. Reminded me a lot of you and your friends, actually."

"Sounds like my kind of pilot," I said, "Any chance you'll introduce me to him later?"

"Well, maybe. He's still around here. Last I heard, he said he was going to find his old friend of his in San Salvacion. Heh, and he never even thanked me for that! The guy needs to work on asking for favors."

Suddenly, Bartlett just sighed out loud, like he was annoyed by something.

"Yesterday, out of the blue, he called and asked me to find his MIA friend or something," he explained, "It wouldn't be so much trouble if I hadn't to call Nastasya! I swear, dealing with that lady is unbelievable!"

"Aw, Captain, you still cared about her!" I teased him. This was nothing really new. Bartlett and that Yuktobanian Major had been in an on-again, off-again relationship for quite a while now. They'd get over it. It's actually pretty adorable seeing the two bickering like an old married couple one moment, to acting all lovey-dovey like young teens in love the next.

"Shut it, Kid," Bartlett punched me lightly in my back, chuckling playfully, "You talk like you haven't been through something similar, or do I need to remind you about what happened seven years ago?"

Ouch, way to hit below the belt, Bartlett.

"Come on, Cap, me and Kei already got over that! If we weren't, we wouldn't even be here right now."

"Yeah, well, keep talking."

It's true, though, what my old squadron leader had said.

Nagase and I hadn't exactly seen eye-to-eye about the whole 'becoming an astronaut' thing, but that was a long time ago now. Both of us had already grown past that.

At least, that's what I believed at the time.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The docks around the Lighthouse were filled to the brim with refugee tents and supplies. There were still some large pieces of debris and UAV wreckages that hadn't been removed since the war ended. I suppose that's what you should expect when the world suddenly lost most of its communication. It's hard to organize a relief operation when you can't even coordinate with each other efficiently.

Albert Genette would have a field day with all this. Shame he's currently busy with something else, though. Something about yet another conflict brewing in South Osea. I swear, if Nagase brought back aliens from space, they'd be totally confused about how we still survive as a species after so many wars that happened on this planet.

"Hey, Kid, you can go on ahead," Bartlett suddenly spoke up, "I think I'll go help those refugees for a bit. I'll catch up with you guys later this evening."

"What? I thought you were looking forward to seeing her."

"Yes, but I figured you two should have some alone time," Bartlett said, his voice turned a bit more serious, "Look, I might not be the best person to give you advice, Kid, but since you two are married now, you should really open up to her about how you feel about…about all this."

"I…I already told you. It's all fine! She wanted to be up there and I wanted to be here. There's nothing to 'open up' to her."

Bartlett chuckled, "Don't kid yourself. Deep down you really wanted her to be here, right?"

I didn't say anything.

"Look, you're right about me and Nastasya. We've broken up and got back together more times than we could count, but I don't want to see you and Nagase be like that. I just wanted to make sure that you two live happily together. In order to do that, you gotta be honest about your feelings."

Bartlett stared at me with the same sternly look he used to give me back when I was his 'nugget' on Sand Island. He really was serious about this.

"…I'll do my best, Captain." I gave in.

"Your best is enough, kid. I know you won't let me down. Now go get your princess already. Don't keep her waiting." Bartlett said. He gave me a mischievous wink and a parting smile before he walked away.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Lighthouse's central courtyard wasn't as crowded as on the outside but there were still a lot of people here. Most of them were gathering in front of a raised platform, listening to someone giving a speech.

It was Princess Rosa Cossette D'Elise. Standing beside her was none other than my lovely wife, Kei Nagase, and her fellow astronauts in their ceremonial white uniforms.

"…I would like to extend my thanks to former Prime Minister Seryozha Viktrovich Nikanor of the Union of Yuktobanian Republics, President James Harrison of the Osean Federation, and Queen Cornelia Chapel of the Republic of Emmeria, for their valuable contribution in providing relief efforts for our war-torn continent…"

The princess paused for a moment, observing the crowd in front of her. I can see that she wasn't exactly happy to be there. She did play a part in the escalation of the conflict that tore the continent apart, after all.

"I have made many terrible mistakes in this past year," she continued, "I was responsible for escalating the war on the false assumption that it was for the best of my people, but I had been so foolish. I was blinded by my naivety and biased view of the world and let them clouded my judgment, and for that, the whole world paid a costly price for my mistakes. My family…paid the price for my mistakes."

She paused again, her expression looked grim, her voice started to break. I can't even imagine the guilt that's bearing down on her right now. She didn't look even older than twenty yet now she has to endure responsibilities that would drive a grown man insane, and this was even after the war was over. I didn't even want to think about what she went through during the war.

A short-haired woman, who I assumed to be one of her companions, whispered something in her ear. Cossette took a deep breath as if to gather the courage to continue.

"Vincent Harling, the man behind the creation of this space elevator, would have been with us today had it was not for my mistakes. He intended for this structure to be a symbol of peace and unity between nations, a monument that shows what humanity could achieve if we stand together as one. It is my deepest regret that I was not able to realize this fact sooner and instead misinterpreted his actions as that which sought to divide our nations apart."

The princess lowered her face, her eyes closed as she gathered her thoughts. Finally, a little smile managed to form on her face as she opened her eyes and stare at the wide, open sky beyond.

"Can you hear me? Citizens of the world? Believe me when I say that enough is enough. No more war shall be fought in the name of only one nation. No more blood shall be shed needlessly for a selfish cause. Let peace reigns as we stand together and use this bridge of peace to guide us to the skies unknown beyond our world and into the stars, united as one. Thank you."

The crowd broke into thunderous applause. The princess bowed gracefully before stepping off the platform along with her escorts, my wife among them. As Nagase was walking down, she finally saw me.

I think my heart skipped a few beats as she smiled warmly at me. She gestured to tell me that she'd meet me later after she's done with the press. I smiled and nodded in response.

No matter what happens after this, it was already worth it seeing her smile again after so long time.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Behold, princess! Your blue dove is finally here!"

I greeted Nagase before wrapping her in a tight embrace as she arrived, before lifting her up and swinging ourselves around. She giggled as she playfully tried to break free from me. Luckily, the crowd had already dispersed and most people went about their business in helping the refugee outside, leaving only a few pairs of eyes here in the central courtyard so we don't really have to worry about embarrassing ourselves too much.

This was a reunion long overdue.

"Stop it, Blaze! You're making a scene!" Nagase punched me lightly, but her grinning face said otherwise. I obliged her request, though. Can't get too excited, can we?

"You're not gonna stop calling me Blaze, aren't you?"

"Never, my dear husband," Nagase smiled in response as she rested her head on my left shoulder, "Blaze is the name of the person I fell in love with, and I shall continue to call him as such until the last day of my life. You'd better get used to it."

"Touché," I said, grinning like an idiot all the while. This is why I love this woman so much.

"So, I see that you're making a new friend already," I noted, after seeing her interacting with Princess Cossette earlier.

"The princess is…an interesting person," Nagase said, "I can see that she's kind, compassionate, and genuinely care about her people. At first glance, I didn't even think that she would be capable of instigating a war."

"A war that she also did her best to put an end to after she realized it was pointless," I added.

"Yeah, I guess there's that," Nagase nodded, "Her mechanic friend told me the whole story already. Apparently, the Belkans were behind the whole thing, again. It was their technology that the Eruseans used to assassinate Harling. The princess's just being manipulated by the military radicals in her government. This whole situation is pretty familiar if you ask me."

So, I guess Trigger wasn't behind Harling's death, after all.

But Belkans, again? Why does everything they created must always result in chaos to the world?

It's always going to be like this, isn't it?

For every ten people on this planet that wanted peace, another ten would prefer war. That's why these conflicts will never go away any time soon.

Harling tried to make world peace happen and look where that got him.

"Do you think it's possible? World peace?" I asked, even if deep down both Nagase and I know what the answer would be. Still, I wanted to hear it from her. I wanted to know what she thought about it.

Nagase was silent for a moment as if she's deep in thoughts. After a while, she finally answered:

"It's going to be hard," She began. There was sadness in her eyes, but also hope, "If people won't learn from their mistakes, if they keep letting greed and hatred clouded their judgments, then even if we built a dozen more of these 'symbols of peace', it won't achieve anything except being turned into instruments of war. But I believe that we'll come through, though. With people like Harling, Nikanor, or the princess, I believe it's possible, and I'll do my damnest to see that it happen."

I looked at Nagase's determined face, cannot help but be inspired by her. Even during the Circum-Pacific War, Nagase has always been an ardent supporter of peace, even as we flew on combat sorties, again and again, to bring about a quick end to the war. It's almost scary how far she'd go in order to ensure that peace would last as long as it could.

That's why she became an astronaut in the first place. That's why she became the commander of a multinational space mission, the youngest in history. She wanted her actions to be a statement to the world that we can achieve something greater if we can put aside our difference and work together as one.

I just wished that I could be there for her…that I could be there with her.

For a long while, we just stood there in silence, watching the sunset in the distance as we reminisced our shared history.

God, has it been that long already? It felt just like yesterday when we first took off Sand Island Airbase in pursuit of an unidentified aircraft. Before we knew it, we were in for a fight for our lives and got dragged along in all that political subterfuge and deception, which claimed the life of our best friend, Alvin 'Chopper' Davenport.

And now, yet another political deception was the cause of the conflict that claimed the life of Vincent Harling, an honored man and a good friend that we looked up to, our greatest ally who always believed in us to be the champions of peace.

That was the reason why I never fly again. Every time anyone I cared about took flight, there's very much a possibility that they will never come back down again. There was so much to lose when you're up there in the sky where one mistake could cost you everything, and it's not just your lives, but those you cared about as well. I didn't want to go through something like that again.

But Nagase...flying is her passion. She won't stop flying for as long as she was still able to, and it worried me to no end.

I just…can't shake away that dark feeling that something might happen to her. Every time she goes up there, she put herself in dangers even more than what we've gone through during the war. I don't want to lose any more people I cared about, my dear wife most of all.

 _"…you gotta be honest about your feelings."_ Bartlett's voice still echoed in my ears.

I took a deep breath. It's time to say what's on my mind these past seven years.

"Kei," I finally spoke, "I…I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Nagase turned to look at me with a confused look. Somehow, I had a feeling that she knew she probably wasn't going to like what I'm about to tell her.

"Why?"

"That I wasn't there with you," I finally admitted, "I didn't follow you out there. Instead, I let you go up there alone for seven years while I didn't even do a damn thing except watching you helplessly from down below…"

Damn it, why was this so hard to do?

"I was a coward, Kei. I didn't want to let you go, but I also wasn't brave enough to follow you. You went somewhere that I can't follow, and I was so afraid of losing you out there. I don't think I can handle it if I have to go through this again…I…"

Suddenly, Nagase put a finger on my lips, shutting me up. She leaned herself toward me, before sealing my lips with a kiss.

At that moment, nothing else mattered in the world, nothing but her.

I instantly wrapped her in a tight embrace as we deepened our kiss, our eyes closed as we savored the feelings we have not felt for so long. It took us almost a whole minute until we finally parted.

"I've been selfish, Blaze…" Nagase finally said. Tears started flowing from her eyes, "I…I was so focused on my dreams that I didn't stop to realize what I put you through. I should have been more considerate about your feelings. Not a day had gone by in the past seven years that I didn't hate myself for leaving you and our friends here…"

I stayed silent, but I reached out and held her hands to comfort her. She looked so torn right now. I've never seen Nagase this emotional, not since…since that day in November City. It broke my heart to see her like this.

"I…I swore to forever be by your side as your wingman, Blaze, but I broke that promise. I should be the one saying sorry to you. I was such an id…"

"Don't," I immediately told her as I gently wiped the tears on her face away, "Don't do this to yourself, Kei. We…we'll figure it out together, okay?"

I held her close to me again as Nagase buried her face in my chest, crying softly into me. I didn't realize it at first, but I was crying as well. Bartlett would've chewed me out personally if he saw me like this.

Somehow, I mustered enough strength to say something out:

"You're here now, Kei, and I'm here for you. That's all that matters. We're finally back together now."

Nagase was still crying, but I can feel a small smile formed on her face.

"I love you, Blaze."

"I love you too, Kei."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun had already set when we walked out to the docks area. Bartlett was already standing there with a large grin on his face.

"Look who finally decided to show up! I was beginning to think you guys sneaked away to take a ride on the elevator and 'enjoy the view' while I wasn't looking."

"Captain!" Both Nagase and I cried out in unison.

"I'm just kidding! Jeez. Kids these days," Bartlett laughed. He must've noticed us blushing furiously, "Anyway, Grimm, Snow, and Pops already arrived in Seletapura Airport. I already told them that we'll eat at that Italian restaurant just opposite the hotel."

"What kind of food is Italian anyway?"

"Don't you know? It's Italia Aldorucci's, the famous chef from Amber!" Nagase said excitedly, "It has the best pizza you could find on this side of the planet, way better than the jokes they served back in our country."

"Never heard of it, I'm not really a fan of pizzas, to be honest."

"That's because you never tried this one! Oh, what am I going to do with you?" Nagase frowned. She gave me a look that practically screamed: _You, sir, are going to eat this pizza with me right here and now or so help me, I'll kick you across the ocean back to Oured myself if you don't._

It's nice to see that some things never change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, now I know one thing, I should never write romantic flicks. I feel like I sucked at it lol. I spent two whole days trying to come up with dialogues that don't feel too cheesy or melodramatic. I'll leave you guys to decide how I fared with this one.
> 
> So, the third chapter, focusing on the only OTP that Ace Combat fans could agree on, Blaze x Nagase. You know, I actually planned for them to have a young child together as well before Nagase went on the mission, and it was the reason why Blaze stayed behind. He needed to take care of their child while waiting for Nagase to return home. Then I figured, why the hell would they decide to have a child when Nagase was training to become an astronaut and would go on to participate in a several-years-long deep space mission? Doesn't make any sense if you ask me.
> 
> I did some research, and apparently, you can become a qualified astronaut in just two years, well, at least in NASA. So if Nagase immediately joined Osea's space program after the Circum-Pacific War ended in 2011, then it would still make sense in this regard. Whew!
> 
> Personally, I feel like this chapter is just an excuse for me to write out some Blaze x Nagase stuff while actually not being why Blaze is a grounded ace. I actually came up with the reason why Blaze isn't flying anymore way later into the writing, based on Genette's one line in the epilogue of AC5 that said: "the Aces of Razgriz never flew in the skies of battle again". Well, since I already used "being crippled" and "severe PTSD" as excuses in previous chapters, it doesn't really leave many choices for me to pick. Ah, well.
> 
> Have fun with this chapter! And as always, feel free to provide any constructive review and criticism as you see fit. Thanks for reading!


	4. The Ace Who Had Enough of Flying

The sky looked so peaceful today. Looks like the angels up there smiled brightly upon us today.

Heh, I must have been staying in this country for too long. I've grown accustomed to those weird Emmerian sayings during the last three years of my stay here. "Go dance with the angels!" they say, again and again as if it was a normal everyday greeting. I'll never figure it out with those Emmerians and their obsessions with dancing and angels.

Still, I could not deny that those Emmerians are among the friendliest people you could ever meet. They tolerated us Estovakians surprisingly well despite us devastating their country during the war three years ago. Queen Cornelia Chapel of the Emmerian Royal Family had been very proactive in restoring both our countries from the damages suffered.

Some say it was thanks to her close friendship with Seryozha Viktrovich Nikanor, former Prime Minister of the Union of Yuktobanian Republics - our southern neighbor across the sea. He was an ardent supporter of peace between nations. Perhaps it is not that surprising that the Verusean continent – on which Yuktobania was situated – has the least amount of conflict over these past few years.

Perhaps, in the end, that was all any of us needed – just some peace and quiet to appreciate the beauty of the world around us, to see that there is more to life than struggles and losses.

That was the lesson that I learned three years ago, after all.

"Uncle Voychek! Check out this paper plane I made!"

The cheerful voice of a young golden-haired girl spoke up behind me. Matilda Herman approached me with an excited look on her face. In her hands is a small paper plane that I recognized in the shape of an F-15. Got to admit, the girl is good at this.

"That's a very beautiful little plane, Matilda," I complimented her with a smile, "I'm sure it can fly pretty far."

"Yay!" The young girl cheered, "You know, this actually took me quite a big while to finish. I've never done this model before."

"Well, learning to adapt to new experience is one of the good qualities a person can have," I explained, "So far, you have done an admirable job at it."

Matilda gave me a big smile, "I'm gonna go show this to my friends now!"

I looked on as Matilda ran away to play with her friends. They seemed so cheerful together, it's hard to believe that most of them are war orphans.

Melissa Herman, the young lady whom I met during the final days of the war three years ago, was the one who had taken those children in to raise them as if they were her own, alongside her own daughter. Ever since she lost her husband in the war, she was determined to make sure that these children have a future.

Even still, she couldn't have taken care of everyone on her own, and so I volunteered to take over for her sometimes when she wasn't available. Today was one such occasion.

Heh, to think that I'll spend my retirement days taking care of orphans. My late wife always said I'm good with children. Fate has a sense of humor, I suppose.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usually, Melissa's home doesn't really have many visitors, but today two noteworthy guests show up.

The first was someone I knew really well.

"Long time no see, Lieutenant Colonel."

First Lieutenant Toscha Mijasik greeted me as he stepped into the house. He had just been released from the POW camp not a week ago, and now he and his wife Ludmila were currently enjoying their long-awaited honeymoon here in Gracemeria. I shook his hands before walking to prepare some coffee in the kitchen.

"I already told you, Toscha, I'm no longer in the air force. There's no need for you to address me like that anymore."

"Well, no one actually removed you from your position as well, sir, so there's that." He jokingly replies. I just chuckled at his response.

My actions near the end of the war allowed the Emmerians to achieve a decisive victory over my own countrymen. It was not a decision that I made lightly, considering that it was basically an act of treason, but I wasn't willing to see this beautiful city and its people perished needlessly in a pointless war that they never asked for.

Fortunately, after "The Generals" were ousted from power, the new government reviewed my actions and came to the conclusion that I was instrumental in bringing a swift and peaceful end to the war, so they decided to leave me alone. My prestigious services as a former leader of the Strigon Team might also have something to do with it as well.

"How are you and Ludmila doing? I was surprised to hear that you two decided to take your honeymoon together here in Gracemeria." I asked as I handed him a cup of coffee.

"Well, Ludmila really enjoyed Melissa and her children's company, so she wanted to stay in touch," Toscha explained, "Also, she admitted she really enjoyed her time in this city…when it's not getting bombed to hell, that is."

"The lady is right. I can confirm that it's true," I smiled, "Gotta hand it to those Emmerians. They know how to make a beautiful city. No wonder they fought so hard to get it back."

"Yeah, they were better fighters than we gave them credit for, I'll have to admit that," Toscha replied. I can see that the young man accepted it grudgingly. We Estovakians are known to be quite proud of our military prowess after all. To see it humbled by the Emmerians must have left quite a sore spot in many of my fellow countrymen.

"For the record, I think Commander Pasternak would've agreed as well, sir."

Ah, Ilya Pasternak. My top student and successor as the leader of the Strigon Team. Only he would be bold enough to go up against the entire might of the enemy forces alone in an attempt to buy the time for his wingmen to flee the battle safely, even if he had to pay for it with his life. The world has lost yet another great pilot that day.

And to think that it could have been me. Had I did not get shot down and crippled early into the war, I could have been the one to fly in that fateful battle, taking on the entire Emmerian Air Force to buy time for my students to escape, and most likely die in the attempt.

I sometimes wondered whether it was actually a blessing or a curse that I was stuck here on the ground back then.

"Do you have any plan of going back to flying, son?" I asked Toscha.

He stayed silent for a while, thinking of what to answer before he finally replied.

"I think I might take a momentarily break from the air force, sir," Toscha admitted, "I just…wanted to spend some time with Ludmila. Ever since I was released from the camp, I've been longing to enjoy a peaceful life with her. Also, it's not like our air force is in need of pilots at the moment."

"Fair point," I told him. Though it's somewhat disappointing to see that a promising pilot like him turn in his wings, I could not deny that the young man deserved a big break after three years of being a POW. Besides, it's not like I was back to flying myself.

"What about you, sir? Do you ever think of going back to take command of the Strigon Team?"

"Nah, I'm too old now. Flying is a young man's game." I said. Heh, it's easier to realize you're old than actually admitting it out loud.

"There comes a time when every pilot must realize that they have been flying long enough and turn in their wings with grace and dignity. There's nothing to be ashamed of in doing so. Those who steadfastly keep on flying despite being way past their prime are bound to make tragic mistakes sooner or later." I explained.

It might not exactly be what I've gone through from experience, but I personally believed that everyone will eventually hit their limits sooner or later.

The moment I got shot down early on in the war three years ago was the sign I took that my time in the air was over. It was time for new blood pilots like Toscha, Pasternak, and that Emmerian ace to rule the sky instead of me.

"Regardless of your decision, you'll always be the top ace in my eyes, Lieutenant Colonel," Toscha smiled, "I'm sure my friends in the Strigon Team will always remember your teachings, sir."

I nodded back in response, "Lead a happy life with that lady, Toscha. I wish you both happiness in the future days to come."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not long after Toscha left to meet with Ludmila in the city center, the second visitor arrived.

"I see Melissa has you taking care of the kids again." A brown-haired man spoke as he poured himself a cup of coffee. His name was Marcus Lampert, a former pilot of the Emmerian Air Force.

He was also the former wingman of our nation's greatest nemesis, Talisman, as well.

"I have to admit, those children do grow on me, even back then when I got stuck in that castle with them," I told him as I observed the children in the backyard. Matilda was leading a little choir session again, singing that same song they sang together back in that castle.

"They really do like to sing that song, though," I noted,

"What can I say, it's a song that meant a lot to us Emmerians," Marcus began, "Every time when things feel hopeless, when the situation is so bleak that there just seem to be no way out, we often look up to the sky and sing this song, to remind ourselves that there is always a brand new day waiting for us, that even after the darkest nights, mornings always come. We just got to have faith."

Marcus explained with a small smile on his face. I can see that it was not exactly a smile of happiness, but a hopeful expression that gave him the strength to move on despite the hardship that he suffered through. From what I heard from Melissa, this man had to live through something that no one should've gone through.

"I…heard from Mrs. Herman a while ago, about what happened to your wife and daughter during the war. I'm terribly sorry."

Marcus was silent, his smile faded. He didn't answer anything. Come to think of it, maybe I shouldn't really have brought it up. I felt like I owed it to him to offer the apology on my countrymen's behalf. Our aggressive attack on the capital had led to so many needless deaths and destruction for those innocent people. The least we could do was to acknowledge our mistakes, for whatever little good that did.

"Back then, the only thing that kept me going through the entire war was so that I could finally meet my family again," He began, "When I learned that they were already gone, I was heartbroken, and then I became furious. I wanted to slaughter every single Estovakian I came across. I didn't even care if it gets me killed in the process. There was nothing left for me to live for."

His voice was shaking, his eyes filled with grief. I can see that the event still hurt him even after all these years. It was not easy getting over your own family's deaths, especially when it was from something beyond your control.

Some scars will never heal. They stay with you for the rest of your lives.

Marcus sighed. He did not look happy, but he didn't seem to be angry, either.

"It wasn't until I got shot down that I realized how foolish I was. Getting myself killed won't bring my dear Monica and Jessica back. I was so sure I was ready to die until death actually stared at me in the face. At the moment I realized I actually didn't want to."

"No one is truly ready to die," I told him, "Even when we thought we have lost everything dear to us, we're still reminded of how our lives could have been so much more. In that moment of clarity, we suddenly find a new reason to live on even as death is already in front of us."

"I suppose you might have a point about that," Marcus admitted, his voice sounded calm again, "I guess I was thankful to be alive, after all. If I died, I wouldn't have met Melissa and her daughter, the wonderful people who helped ended the war. I have to say that meeting the two of them helped give me a reason to live again."

"They also lost someone dear to them as well, Mrs. Herman lost her husband, and young Matilda lost her father," I said, "We've all lost something or someone dear to us thanks to that war. I guess sticking with each other is all we can do."

"Amen to that," Marcus nodded, a small smile forming on his face again.

"What about you, Voychek? Any personal regret at all?"

I took a moment to think. For a man at my age, I don't really have anything that I deeply regret at all. Aside from my wife dying almost a decade ago, there wasn't really anything that I wanted more out of my life.

"I…probably wish I could've found one more reason to fly again, I think."

"Really? Why's that?"

"I used to think that there was nothing more I wanted out of my life than to endlessly soar that wide open sky, enjoying the everlasting freedom," I began, "But as I grew older and flying became more of a routine, flying wasn't as fresh or exciting as it used to be."

I paused for a moment, thinking back to the younger days where I still take to the skies with pride. That seemed like a long time ago now.

"Eventually, I figured I there's more to life than flying in the sky all the time," I continued, "Taking care of those war orphans, for example. I realized that I can live a more meaningful life here on the ground than in the air. I guess I became more and more grounded as time went by."

"I can understand that," Marcus said, "I could have gone back to flying after my body healed up as well, but I just couldn't find a reason to anymore. Flying brings me no joy ever since I lost my family. So I figured I should look for something else that makes my life worth living again."

"You might not have to look far," I told him, gesturing at the children outside, "Sometimes what we're looking for is closer to us than we first realize."

Marcus turned to look at the children outside, a thoughtful expression on his face, then he smiled,

"I suppose you're right."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We just sat there enjoying our coffee while looking at the children playing in the backyard. Eventually, Melissa returned home.

"Hi, Marcus!" Melissa greeted cheerfully, "I didn't know you were coming in today!"

"Well, I was in the area so I figured I should drop by," Marcus smiled warmly at her, "I was getting bored being alone by myself anyway."

"What about your friend? Talisman? You never really introduced me to him yet."

"Nah, that guy's a bit shy. He sends his regards to the kids, though." Marcus explained, "As for my other friends, they weren't exactly close to the city. Ever since the satellite disaster, it was kinda hard to keep in touch with them, at least until this whole mess is fixed."

"I heard the Queen said in her speech today that the restoration efforts will double soon once she got the support from the folks in Usea," I told them, "something about using that 'Lighthouse' structure over there as a signal amplifier or something."

"Can't imagine what they will come up with next in a few years," Melissa noted, "Thank you again for taking care of the kids, Mr. Voychek. I hope Matilda didn't give you much trouble."

"Oh, it's quite alright. She has done a great job taking care of the other children herself."

"Knowing Matilda, the other children probably willingly follow her on their own. They didn't want to risk her wrath." Marcus jokingly said, earning a playful smack from Melissa as the two began to laugh together.

I looked at the smiles on their faces, can't help but feel happy for them both. They both have gone through so much in their lives. To see them finding happiness again is something that makes life worth living.

Sometimes, that's all there is in life. You keep finding something worth living for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! I finally get it done! After spending an entire day watching an Ace Combat 6 playthrough on YouTube and trying to figure out which story to tell in this latest chapter. At first, I planned to have Shamrock to be the viewpoint character, but after some consideration, I figured that Voychek is a more interesting character to explore. He's probably my most favorite character (and by favorite, I mean the most natural xD) from AC6, that's why I would love to tell one more story with him.
> 
> Also, I wanted to give a bit more closure to characters such as Toscha and Shamrock. For me, Toscha is rather underdeveloped in the game itself, so I wanted to give him some time to shine in this story. As for Shamrock, I really liked the twist regarding how he lost his family in the war. It's a shame that the whole thing only lasted for two missions, though.


	5. The Ace Who Knew When To Stop

It's just my luck that the satellite attacks had to happen on the same day as my return flight to Usea.

About four months ago during the so-called 'Lighthouse War' (they really couldn't pick a better name for it, huh?), Osea and Erusea's simultaneous satellite attacks caused most of the world's communications to go haywire. The navigational systems were also affected, causing all airlines to delay every flight indefinitely.

It was chaos after the satellites go down. All TV channels had gone static, phone signals were dead, and let's not start with the internet. Basically, anything that required satellites to function was rendered useless. If not for the electricity remaining on, we would've been effectively back to the Stone Age.

And thus, what was supposed to be my two-week long vacation in Aurelia unexpectedly turned into an excruciating four-months-stay on this foreign land without any way to contact anyone back home. Heh, what a way to start a new year.

Well, at least I wasn't alone.

"It's been a while, John Harvard."

A familiar voice spoke up behind me as I was listening to a radio broadcast from Usea. I quickly turned the volume down and turned to face the speaker. Even though it's been years since we last saw each other, I still remember that voice quite well.

"If it isn't the lovely Lieutenant Kei Nagase. Long time no see!" I greeted the lady in a dark-blue pilot uniform, "And it's John _Herbert_ , actually. You always got my surname wrong!"

Nagase laughed as I did the same. Even after all these years, she still looked so good.

"So how have you been? How's your auto repair business going? Didn't expect to see you all the way out here." She asked.

"Well, with all that stuff going down in Usea the past year, I thought it would be best if I _didn't_ stay there until a bomb dropped on my head, so I decided to come here to get away from all that nonsense." I explained, "Needless to say, the war over there still found a way to mess with my life somehow. I've been stranded here for months now."

"Yeah, tell me about it. I was unfortunate enough to be flying at the time of the satellite disaster," Nagase chuckled, "Let me tell you, attempting to land a plane full of passengers without a working navigational system and no support from the ATC _at night_ was a freaking nightmare."

"Ouch, that's pretty rough," I said, "Great job landing that plane safely. You were always good at flying under pressure."

Nagase shook her head lightly, "It wouldn't be the first time. Remember when I told you about the time when my captain was injured and I had to pilot the plane with Erusean fighters after my tail in the last war?"

"As I recall, some ISAF fighter with a Ribbon emblem saved your life, right?"

"Yeah, it was quite an experience. I couldn't exactly dogfight enemy planes in an airliner, you know?" Nagase frowned, "Anyway, I was one of the lucky ones. I heard there are some planes that…weren't so fortunate. My airline had to cancel all flights after that. We couldn't risk our pilots flying blind out there until this whole mess is sorted out."

I stayed silent. With all the navigational and communications systems suddenly gone out like that, there's bound to be casualties. Lots of casualties. Come to think of it, I dodged a bullet when the satellites went down when it did and not while I'm already up in the air. I dreaded to think of what could have happened.

"All this because some idiots over there didn't know what Kessler syndrome is," I finally replied, "Seriously, what were those people doing over there?"

"Blame the ones in command. They're usually responsible for all those messes and leave people like us to clean up after them," Nagase replied, "Remember that coup we put a stop to all those years ago?"

"Yeah, something about Usean conservatives rebelling against the decision to ally with Osea, and they launched a coup to stop the treaty signing, right?" I asked. Nagase nodded in response.

"For a country that claimed to be the leader of world peace, Osea sure went to war a lot." She noted, "Then again, wars happened pretty much every few years anyway."

"Funny you should say that," I chuckled, "These past months, I've heard a lot of Aurelians mentioning that things aren't looking that well for them and their neighbor Leasath lately. Some are even saying that there's a high chance it could escalate into a full-blown conflict."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it does. I heard the current Leasath leader – some guy named Navarro or something – is a real piece of work. He couldn't care less about his country. His only interest is making big profits off his war machines."

_Sounds like a guy that would pay me a good sum of money if I work for him._

I thought wordlessly in my mind. I figured Nagase wouldn't really like it if I brought back our shared past as mercenaries. She didn't really have fond memories of those days if I recall.

"Speaking of leaders," Nagase continued, "I heard you listening to a speech earlier. Was that the princess of Erusea?"

"Uh, yeah," I replied. I almost forgot that I was listening to the radio broadcast earlier, "She's thanking a team of astronauts coming back from space or something,"

I turned the volume back on as we listened to the speech together, but it wasn't the princess who's speaking at the moment. It was actually the lead astronaut.

Somehow, her voice was exactly the same as Nagase's…

"Oh, my, God…" Nagase spoke up excitedly, "It's her. She finally made it back."

"You know her?" I spoke, surprised at my friend's reaction.

"Know her? She's my niece!" Nagase said, "You remember my big sister Reiko, right? From Bana City? She's the woman that you couldn't stop hitting on back then."

"Hey! She really was pretty hot, no offense."

"Shut up," She punched me lightly in the shoulder.

Heh, I still remember pretty Reiko. She's the oldest sibling in Nagase's family, older than her by about twelve years, yet she didn't look her age at all. I vaguely remember her being a race queen or something. Met her a few times during the Emmerian Grand Prix years ago and couldn't stop thinking about her for a big while. Never knew she had a kid. If she's old enough to be a pilot now, Reiko must've had her when she was pretty young. Hey, who am I to judge?

"Anyway, that girl's her daughter," Nagase continued, "Somehow, we both look the same as each other. Reiko even named her Kei, just like me. She thought it would be funny to make us identical twins, apparently."

"Now you're just messing with me."

"Why would I do that? You know I was always bad at jokes."

"So what you're saying," I spoke slowly, "is that you have a niece who not only has the same name as you but also looks the same as you in every way, is that right?"

Nagase just nodded before sighing heavily.

And with that, I just burst out laughing. This was probably the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life. The fact that it was actually the truth made it even more hilarious.

"It's not funny!" Nagase grumbled, "Not only does she look like me, talk like me, and have the same name as me, but she actually became a fighter pilot just like me, too! She even had the same callsign! This is all very creepy stuff, you know? It's…it's like she's my evil clone or something!"

Have to be honest, I didn't really catch the initial part until she spelled it out to me again later. I only heard the part about 'she's my evil clone' and I laughed even louder. Hell, half the eyes in the terminal were probably staring at me like I'm a crazy person.

Kei Nagase has a niece who's her evil clone. I'm never letting that go.

"Alright, alright, enough already." Nagase spoke up in annoyance, "So what 'bout you? I heard you got married a few years ago. Sorry I didn't make it to your wedding. I was on the other side of the world flying at the time."

"Nah, it's alright. If you'd come, it'd be quite awkward," I admitted, "After all, we _did_ shoot her down back then."

Another silence. Nagase had a very confused look on her face. It took her a while before she got the idea of who I was talking about.

During the Usean coup, we shot down an elite squadron of the rebel forces. Its leader was a spirited young lady who was flying a plane with a pink butterfly emblem. The one and the only.

"No…now you're joking."

I shook my head, smiling sheepishly in response.

"No way. Did you marry Camilla? _That_ Camilla?"

"Yep. That I did."

The one and the only Camilla Almeida. The famous Catwalk. The charming, spirited flight leader of Cocoon Squadron. I'm actually quite proud to have her as a wife. There were _a lot_ of jealous eyes in the room when she walked down the aisle to meet me at our wedding.

This time, it was Nagase's turn to laugh uncontrollably. "You crazy bastard. You actually did it! I…I don't even know what to say. How did you even manage _that_?!"

"Well, you won't believe this, but she was actually one of my customers," I explained, "About five years earlier, she visited my garage and asked me to fix her broken car. Didn't even realize who I am at first until a few days later when she noticed my old Scarface jacket and confronted me about it. There were no hard feelings between us, though, and even after her car was fixed, she often came by to chat with me about the war back then. One thing led to another, and, well, now we're husband and wife. You know, typical cheesy romance movie stuff."

"Wow, I guess congratulations are in order," Nagase smiled, "I would love to meet her in person."

"You could, actually." I told her, "Camilla is at the hotel we're staying in while we wait for this whole mess to sort itself out. We're planning to eat at an Italian restaurant at the Gaiuss Tower this evening. You could join us if you like."

"Sounds good. Consider me invited," Nagase replied, "It's been a long time since I get to meet anyone from back then."

"Yeah…"

I sighed lightly. Deep down, I agreed with her. Ever since Ulrich "Pops" Olsen died a few years back, I couldn't recall anything or anyone that connected me to my old life, and aside from Nagase and Camilla, there's only one other person whom I was familiar with.

"Say, Nagase," I began, "Did you ever meet Phoenix again, after all these years?"

Phoenix. Scarface One. Whatever his actual name was. The legendary mercenary pilot who brought an end to the Scully Islands Insurrection and the Usean coup d'etat, yet so few people known about him as if he never existed at all. It didn't help that during the brief time I knew him, he always insisted on keeping a very low profile about himself.

Nagase shook her head. Her smile faded. "The last time I heard about him, I was still fresh as a co-pilot in Air Ixiom back then. Said he was working on something very important and he had to lay low for a while. Apparently, 'lay low for a while' for him translated to 'disappeared without a trace for decades'."

"That bad, huh?" I asked, "What did he say he was working on?"

"You remember those red fighters we fought during the coup back then? The Z.O.E. drones?" Nagase asked, before continuing after I nodded back, "Phoenix thought there was something fishy behind those drones' appearances in the rebel force's arsenal, so he decided to investigate more about it. Heard he was working with another guy on the case. I didn't get the name, but he said he was a fellow mercenary who fought in the Belkan War."

"Let me guess, someone in Belka was probably involved with this again," I guessed, "I heard Gründer Industries were developing new drone models lately and sold them to Erusea. No doubt they made good use of them in whatever the hell that went down in Usea last year."

"I just wish he's safe, wherever he is right now," Nagase said, "Even though I never get to know him that much, he still used to be my flight lead. Without him, I probably wouldn't be here."

Nagase smiled a little. I think she's reminiscing about our time back then. The one thing in her brief mercenary stint that she didn't regret was flying as Phoenix's "number two", and to be honest, I'd say I feel the same as she did.

"Did you ever miss that life, Nagase?"

"You already know how I feel about it, John. The less I remember about it the better," Nagase said in a sad voice, "I never wanted to be a mercenary. The only reason I went up there is that I wanted to put an end to the coup as soon as possible. Even then, I had to kill a lot of people to get there. It was not something I could just get over with."

Nagase stared blankly into the distance. Even after all these years, it's still apparent that she's still feeling the aftereffects of that war. She never seemed like the type of person who would become a mercenary in the first place. The fact that she did become one anyways told me that she must be very desperate to end that coup, perhaps for some far more personal reason. I decided not to pursue the topic further.

"It's one reason I wanted to meet with your wife, actually," Nagase continued, "We did kill some of her trusted wingmen back then. I…I wanted to apologize to her in person. It's the least that I could do."

"Don't worry. I'm sure she would understand," I reassured her, "We were pilots fighting on opposite sides of the war. We didn't kill those people because of personal malice, we did it because it's our job."

"That's what I've been telling myself," Nagase replied, "In war, people die. I know that it's the reality of things. Doesn't mean that it helps me sleep better at night."

Nagase's voice was shaking a bit. She still couldn't come to term with the things she did. I don't blame her, though. Everyone deals with the horrible nature of the world in their own ways.

"You know, being a mercenary is a two-edged sword," I began. "On one hand, you get to travel the world, meet new people, and do things you never know you're capable of, not to mention the amount of money you can make from it. It lets you discover who you really are, what you fight for, and the lengths you will go to achieve it. On the other hand, there's a good chance you will not like what you have become. Wars can bring out the worst in people, especially if personal gain is involved, and mercenaries like us get front-row seats to see it all."

Nagase listened to me closely, which actually scared me a little. She never paid me this much attention before, not even back then. I was never really good to keep someone's attention in a conversation for this long.

"That's…actually pretty insightful, coming from you." Nagase spoke at last, "I have to admit, I don't really know what being a mercenary taught me. All my life, I always wanted to become a pilot. I know what I wanted to be ever since I was young. I never asked to kill anyone, but if it's the price I must pay to fly those skies in peace, then so be it."

She chuckled bitterly before continued, "I guess it was still too much to ask for, apparently. The world just won't seem to run out of conflicts."

"That's why there will always be a place for mercenaries," I said, "For me, it's just another business. Sure, it's a dirty business, but the business is _good._ It made me enough money to allow me to be who I am right now."

"Well, I admit it did allow me to join Air Ixiom easily given my experience back then, but it just isn't the job that suited me." Nagase replied, "I thought you'd fit more in this line of work. I'm actually surprised you didn't _stay_ as a mercenary, John."

"You know what they say: it's wise to quit while you're ahead." I explained, "I already got my big break, earning enough money to retire in peace, work in my dream job, and raise a family with my loving wife. I have no reason to go fight in another pointless war. Besides, aces these days are getting better and better. I know what my limits are. I'm not putting my life on the line fighting for a cause I don't believe in for some cash I don't really need."

"Spoken like a true pragmatist," Nagase chuckled, "Well if it keeps you alive and healthy, I suppose you're doing something right."

"Indeed it does," I answered with a grin on my face.

It's true, you know? In a world where wars could break out at any time, you have to make the most out of your life. You never know which moment could be your last. So what if you have to get your hands dirty from time to time if it gets you what you need?

I did what I have to do, and now I have everything I could ever want. If I die tomorrow, I'll die a contented man. I couldn't ask for more.

And that's why I don't regret a thing.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For a while, we just sat together watching people going about their business inside the airport terminal and listening to whatever's playing on the radio. Apparently, the folks in Usea managed to turn the International Space Elevator "Lighthouse" (Oooh…so that's where the Lighthouse War came from) into a large transmission tower. It won't exactly fix the worldwide damage overnight, but at least half the world is about to get their communications back. I guess that's all we could ask for at the moment.

At least the topics of our conversations weren't as serious as before.

"…I'm pretty sure it was a Su-35," Nagase said in an annoyed voice.

"Your memory's getting blurry, Nagase. Phoenix's definitely flying an F-22."

"To be honest, I can't even remember which plane I was flying back then."

"Well, seems like everybody and their mother are flying F-22s these days. I suppose we were flying those back in the days as well, I think."

"Heh."

"So, what are your plans after all this? Going back to Usea?" I asked.

"I think I'll go visit my niece," Nagase replied, "She did just come back from space, after all. It's been years since I last saw her. Besides, I think it would be funny if people see us together. They'd probably be totally confused as hell."

"You evil, evil woman." I grinned. Man, I still couldn't get over the fact that Nagase's niece was basically a younger clone of her. Next time I meet Reiko, I'm going to have lots of questions to ask her about this.

"Just imagine how many people will mistake us for the other." Nagase smiled mischievously. I was just about to tell her to be careful of what she wishes for, but someone up there had a sense of comedic timing, apparently.

As we were talking, a mysterious stranger approached Nagase.

"Hey, Nagase! I didn't know you were already back!"

A brown-haired man in a black sleeveless jacket spoke up excitedly. Nagase was totally baffled by the stranger's greeting.

"Uh, what?"

"I thought you were still at Selatapura! I was about to write to you to apologize that I couldn't make it there in time. Where are Blaze and others, anyway?"

"Um, I'm sorry, you must have mistaken me for someone else," Nagase spoke in a very confused voice, "Wait, how did you know my name is Nagase? And who is Blaze?"

"Huh?" The man frowned, "Don't you remember me? It's Genette."

I just sat there and watch both Nagase and the mysterious man stared at each other, each as bewildered as the other.

This is going to be a very interesting talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I just couldn't resist making another chapter for Grounded Aces, could I? xD I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Ace Combat 2 was my first Ace Combat game, and to this day I still play the hell out of it, so you can say it has a special place in my heart (as corny as that sounds). Phoenix/Scarface One was the first AC protagonist that I played as, and Edge and Slash were the first wingmen that I flew with. All those lovely memories inspired me to write some sort of closure to their stories as best I could.
> 
> This chapter is told through the eyes of John Herbert (or John Harvard as he was known in the original AC2) or 'Slash'. Even though I've never played the AC2 remake itself (Assault Horizon Legacy), I did some research by looking up playthroughs and read on Acepedia, so the history of Edge and Slash in this chapter are kind of a mix between both the original and the remake, hence that joke near the ending about Phoenix's canon plane. There is also a jab to how there are multiple Kei Nagases in Strangereal, a call-forward to Ace Combat X, and shout-outs to Ace Combat 04, 5, Zero, 6 and 7 (yes, even that Italian restaurant joke).
> 
> There's also a shout-out to Namco's Ridge Racer series as well. This Kei Nagase is officially confirmed to be the sister of Reiko Nagase, the race queen and the mascot of the Ridge Racer series. Heh, sneaky Namco and their sneaky little video game universe.
> 
> Also, I intended for this chapter to explore the 'Mercenary' ace style through John Herbert. I already explored the 'Soldier' and 'Knight' ace styles in the previous chapters, so it's time I told the story through the eyes of a mercenary for a change.
> 
> To sum up, Ace Combat 2 is the game that introduced me to the series and the world of Strangereal, that's why I go out of my way to include as many shout-outs as possible. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading! Be sure to give constructive reviews if you can. I would love to improve my writing further and correct any mistake I might have made. Thank you again!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, guys! It was the first fanfic I've written after more than five years hiatus. It was thanks to Ace Combat 7 that kickstarted my interests in writing again. I apologize if I made any mistake in the story. English's not my first language and I did my best to keep it natural, but feel free to comment review any way you like! ;)


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